Article Added On: February 15, 2005 - over 3 years ago
Title: Indian Film Seeks Justice Over 1984 Sikh Massacre
Author: Philip Blenkinsop
Publication: Reuters/metronews.ca
Publication Date: January 01, 2005 - over 3 years ago
Faith Groups: Hindu
Themes: religion and violence

Abstract: Amu, a movie produced by Indian director Shonali Bose, deals with the 1984 massacre of Sikhs, which is said to be the worst religious violence since the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947.

Tuesday, February 15, 2005

BERLIN (Reuters) - The director of an Indian movie dealing with the 1984 massacre of Sikhs by angry Hindu mobs hopes to drive debate about the killings and force legal authorities to renew investigations.

"Amu," a debut feature film by Indian director Shonali Bose, had its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival to an appreciative international audience.

"The struggle for justice remains strong. If you make a big noise it's harder to sweep it under the carpet. It's just not in the public conscience," Bose told Reuters in an interview.

"Some smaller fry have been caught, but not the bigger fish."

The movie is set in contemporary India and tells the story of Kaju, a young woman living in America, who visits her relatives in New Delhi with a thirst to discover "real" India.

Her inquisitive streak leads her to the city's slums where she is overcome by a feeling of deja vu. Gradually she discovers her adoption in 1985 may be linked to the previous year's riots.

The government says 2,733 people died in attacks on Sikhs after Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was shot dead by her Sikh bodyguards..

The assassination was in revenge for Gandhi's decision to send the army to flush Sikh separatists out of Amritsar's Golden Temple.

Activists say about 4,000 people were killed in the riots, said to be the worst religious violence since the bloody partition of the subcontinent in 1947.

Delhi's Sikhs bore the brunt of the riots and accuse the Congress party of setting them off, a charge it denies.

About 600 cases of arson, killing and rioting were registered, but police closed half of them, ostensibly for lack of evidence. Around 10 people have been convicted of murder.

Bose's view is that those in power encouraged the mobs or did nothing to rein them in, a stance that caused difficulties.

Her film was financed by family and some members of the Sikh community after major producers, keen for well-known Bollywood stars and songs, and independents refused to back it. One U.S. house was also keen for a white protagonist, Bose said.

The censors also took a dim view of lines referring to the involvement of unnamed politicians. After they were removed the film was cleared with an "A," or adult rating.

"They said 'why should young people know this painful history? Better it be buried and forgotten,"' Bose said.

"Amu" is not the only film dealing with difficult passages of India's history since independence.

"Final Solution," a study of the politics of hate that led to the 2002 massacre of over 1,000 mostly Muslims during Hindu-Muslim riots in Gujarat, premiered in Berlin last year.

The film, its title drawn from the Nazis' description of the genocide of Jews, was banned in India for several months.

However, Bose said the Gujarat riots and other similar incidents were easier to blame on extremist Hindu groups than the violence in 1984 when the secular Congress held power.

Bose said people had been scared of touching anything dealing with the massacre.

But she sees signs of modest change, with "Kaya Taran" (Chrysalis), a film about a Sikh mother and son given refuge by nuns during the riots, released in the middle of last year.

She also said Manmohan Singh, India's first Sikh prime minister, expressed interest in "Amu." She sent him a copy of the film.

Original article